#*shrumms guitar* idk what will happen next

[stories-by-rie]

#3 Creature Fear

A/N: There is a short description of ugly monsters.

Ahn and Mira were waiting in front of the infirmary while Jeanne got treated inside. With interest they mustered each other and finally it was Ahn who broke the silence.

 “So, you’re Jeanne’s room mate?”

 “Yes.”

Ahn nodded and as she felt that Mira didn’t like to talk that much, she just looked at her phone. Though it was Mira who talked again next.

 “Do you know her well? Are you friends?”

  “Well, we just met today. So… But I figured I’d give her the benefit of the doubt.”

 “Hm.”

 “What is she like as a room mate?”

 “We didn’t talk much yet.”

Ahn giggled, then shrugged her shoulders. “Yes, you don’t seem to be someone who talks a lot. That’s fine.”

 “I just never know what to talk about, that’s all.”

  “That’s wonderful! You and I should be friends, because I talk all the time, but I don’t actually have anything useful to say. Maybe we could compensate one another!”

 “Hm.”

 “I really like your glasses, by the way.”

It was too dark in the corridor, and with her brown sepia skin it was hard to see, but Mira blushed all the way to the top of her ears.

 “Thanks.”

With a squeak the door opened up and Jeanne walked out again. The rings under her eyes stood out eerily in that cold light of the corridor, her hair had become somewhat greasy from that sweat, but a smile curled her lips and as she saw that the girls had waited for her, she held her hands up in mild embarrassment.

 “All is fine, sorry for the spook.”

  “Well, what was the matter?”

 “Just an annoying headache.”

  “Oh, you suffer from migraine?”

  “Something like it. But let me tell you, that nurse had some amazing runes in her Collector. I mean, I know she’s educated in healing, but it was really impressive nonetheless.

They walked back together, three young women as different from each other as they could be. Maybe that was, what made them fit together so perfectly.

   “We should go directly to the canteen. It’s only fifteen minutes until lunch break and I am seriously, seriously hungry”, Ahn suggested and looked towards the canteen as they reached the entrance of their dormitory.

 “I’m hungry as well”, Jeanne agreed and Mira just nodded.

As they stepped outside into the autumn wind again, the beeping sound that reminded of an alarm clock sounded over the grounds. Only a few seconds later did the girls nearly run into a group of older students. Ready in their uniforms, layered dark blue leather, the school’s emblem on the chest. They walked orderly, but clearly hurried, towards a farther away building. Their presence was very heavy, their face stern and slightly worried. Curiously they looked at them until they disappeared again.

 “That’s weird. If they were wearing uniforms and got called to an incident, why wouldn’t they leave the school’s grounds?”, Ahn wondered and spoke out aloud what all of them were thinking.

  “Maybe it is just a test”, Jeanne said.

 “Didn’t look like one for me”, Mira whispered and after a few moments of silence added “We should go and check it out.”

 “Boy. Mira, so much criminal energy from you. I am shocked!” Ahn put a hand to her forehead to mime her troubles, but behind that laid an excited grin.

 “Without me. If I get caught in troubles they won’t even hesitate to kick me out”, Jeanne argued and crossed her arms before her chest.

 “Oh come on, it’s not like we are actually doing anything forbidden. Just a glimpse to see what they are up to? We will just say that we got lost, it’s our first day after all.”

  “I have a really bad feeling about this.” But Mira and Ahn already followed the older students through the paths so it finally seemed like Jeanne had no say in this matter any more.

  The building they walked to was very small and in contrast to the others that were covered in red bricks, it was simply built from cement. In a way, it looked a little like a prison. But in contrast to one, it had windows like any other building too.

  They looked inside and Ahn instantly flinched back as she spotted the creature. The older students stood in a circle with other Searchers, their golden Collectors pointed at a creature. The Collector that looked like a golden sphere made out of glass, beautifully shifting its runes were the exact opposite to the creature. As big as a human child, the arms and legs much longer, no hair and dark grey, nearly green skin. With eyes like insects and four in total, they should have looked scary enough, but the sharpest teeth were something else again entirely. Their whole body was covered with blood and intestines, obviously it had just successfully attacked.

  The Searchers were arguing, restricting the creature with one of their runes.

 “Why is that thing inside the school? Why would they capture one?”, Mira asked and Ahn turned back to look at it again.

 “Maybe it’s a special one?”

 “Looks like the rest of them to me.”

 “Whatever it is, I am pretty sure we’re not supposed to see it”, interrupted Jeanne, but she couldn’t look away either.

 “Well, the creatures have increased recently. Attacks have become more brutal as well. Maybe they want to test out new runes on them.” Mira squinted her eyes as if she could see the runes they were turning better that way.

 “Well, I didn’t know the Searcher’s School had its own research lab on it’s campus”, Ahn mumbled.

  “And I didn’t know first graders were allowed to run around the school’s grounds and spy on other people.” Behind them stood a man, the badge on his chest telling them that he was one grade above them, and also a student representative.

 “We are sorry, but we totally got lost. We were on our way to the canteen, actually”, Ahn said.

 “Sure. It happens a lot. And you thought staring through that window would help you how?”

 “Please excuse our manners. We were just so curious and walked off our path due to it. What kind of facility is that?” Jeanne’s honesty seemed to work wonders in their situation and the guy finally relaxed a little.

 “It’s restricted to everyone except full Searchers. Which means you’ll have to pass the first seven exams if you want to step inside. Which also means that I can’t go inside. So I can’t answer your question. How about I walk you back to canteen?”

The girls exchanged a slight gaze and then nodded in agreement.

  “Sorry”, mumbled Mira and the guy smiled.

 “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Just don’t do something like that again. It’s better to keep to oneself whenever curiosity wants to nag at you. Keep that in mind, alright?”

They nodded in union and followed him to the canteen, right in time for lunch. Even if the situation had turned out just fine, and they hadn’t gotten in trouble at all, Jeanne could still feel the piercing eyes of him on her, even long after they had separated in the canteen.

  “What is after this?”, Ahn asked, her mouth full of vegetables.

 “Extra curricular activities presentation”, Jeanne answered.

 “Do you already know what you want to do?”

 “No.”

 “And you?”, Ahn directed her question at Mira now.

 “There’s a dance group, I think. I will join that one.”

  “Oh! You’re a dancer?”, Ahn gasped and put her head down on one of her hands.

 “Yes, I’ve been dancing ballet since I was six.”

 “So admirable.” With a dreamy look, Ahn stared at Mira who got all flustered about it.

  “And you? Any ideas yet?”, Jeanne wondered and Ahn fell back into her reality.

 “I thought about joining the debating club. But I’ll have a look at the presentations first before I decide.”

And with that their day later ended in a way that could surely be described as somewhat normal.

~ masterlist ~